NEW YORK – Thermo Fisher Scientific said on Tuesday that it has partnered with AstraZeneca to develop a solid tissue and blood-based companion diagnostic test for the drug firm's Tagrisso (osimertinib), a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) drug.
This partnership is part of a global, multiyear agreement that the companies signed in 2021 to codevelop next-generation sequencing-based companion diagnostic tests to support AstraZeneca's portfolio of targeted therapies.
For this collaboration, the companies will develop a solid tissue and blood-based CDx using Thermo Fisher Scientific's Oncomine Dx Express Test on the Genexus Dx System, a fully integrated next-generation sequencing platform capable of completing an automated specimen-to-report workflow in as little as 24 hours.
The CDx will help screen for NSCLC patients who may be eligible for Tagrisso treatment by identifying tumors that exhibit epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) alterations including exon 21 L858R mutations, exon 19 deletions, or T790M mutations.
“By leveraging the Genexus Dx System’s unprecedented turnaround time, we can help ensure molecular testing results are more readily available to inform vital treatment decisions,” Garret Hampton, president of clinical next-generation sequencing and oncology at Thermo Fisher, said in a statement.